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In the Report “Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean” (13 Feb., 2015, http://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768), Jambeck et al. reported on the quantity of plastic entering the ocean and estimated that 275 million metric tons (MT) of plastic waste was generated in 192 coastal countries in 2010, with 4.8 to 12.7 million MT entering the ocean. Without waste management infrastructure improvements, the cumulative quantity is predicted to increase by an order of magnitude by 2025. High concentrations of plastic debris in the open ocean have adverse effects on marine ecosystems and biodiversity (1, 2). In light of this environmental concern, we think it is urgent to declare war on plastics and strictly regulate the single-use plastic bags.
The UN has declared a "War on Plastic" and the G20 has released a "Marine Litter Action Plan". It is anticipated that the marine debris issue will be addressed at the forthcoming 3rd meeting of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 3) and reflected in UN resolutions. Plastic bags are among the top ten items found during coastal clean-ups across the world. They were sighted at sea by marine debris observers on board RRS James Clark Ross only 10 degrees from the north pole this year and in the new proposed giant Marine protected Area around Ascension Island, in the remote mid-Atlantic Ocean. There has been a massive worldwide effort to educat...

In the Report “Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean” (13 Feb., 2015, http://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768), Jambeck et al. reported on the quantity of plastic entering the ocean and estimated that 275 million metric tons (MT) of plastic waste was generated in 192 coastal countries in 2010, with 4.8 to 12.7 million MT entering the ocean. Without waste management infrastructure improvements, the cumulative quantity is predicted to increase by an order of magnitude by 2025. High concentrations of plastic debris in the open ocean have adverse effects on marine ecosystems and biodiversity (1, 2). In light of this environmental concern, we think it is urgent to declare war on plastics and strictly regulate the single-use plastic bags.
The UN has declared a "War on Plastic" and the G20 has released a "Marine Litter Action Plan". It is anticipated that the marine debris issue will be addressed at the forthcoming 3rd meeting of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 3) and reflected in UN resolutions. Plastic bags are among the top ten items found during coastal clean-ups across the world. They were sighted at sea by marine debris observers on board RRS James Clark Ross only 10 degrees from the north pole this year and in the new proposed giant Marine protected Area around Ascension Island, in the remote mid-Atlantic Ocean. There has been a massive worldwide effort to educate people to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic but the scale of the problem is at epidemic level. More than 40 countries and municipalities have now banned or taxed their use. This has had an immediate and strong impact, for example reducing new plastic bag use by 83% in the UK since 2015. However, the regulation of plastic bags cannot be accomplished in one stroke; this issue will face various challenges, including multi-stakeholder involvement, booming e-commerce packaging, technological innovation and public awareness. For example, Kenya failed to implement a ban on single use plastic bags during three previous attempts. Texas, Michigan and other US states vetoed any limit being made on plastic bags. Many vegetable and fruit vendors and smaller shops in China still flout restrictions on use by providing bags for free. The growth in online shopping and meal delivery services also challenges legislative controls.
To win the battle against plastic bags, we can pursue the following strategies: First, further raise public awareness on marine plastic pollution and its serious consequences to environmental and ultimately human health. In tandem we need to better promote responsible plastic use. Second, strengthen all-around supervision on the use, manufacturing and importation of plastic bags, and impose stiffer penalties against violators. Third, develop technologies to separate plastic bags from the waste stream for potential recycling. Fourth, encourage the manufacturing of sustainable and affordable alternatives to plastic bags.
Refercens:
1. Cressey D. Nature, 536, 263-265; 2016.
2. Gallowaya TS, Lewisa CN. PNAS, 113: 2331-2333; 2016.

WeiGuo, Professor, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China

Other Contributors:

ShujuanWang, Master student, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China

(25 May 2016)

ALTHOUGH WE ARE not sure whether plastic will really outweigh fish in the ocean by 2050 (Wilcox et al, PNAS, 38, 11899-11904; 2015), we all know that the land has been inputting plastic wastes into the ocean (Jambeck et al, Science, 347,768-712; 2015). Almost 600,000 plastic particles per square kilometer total weighting about 300,000 tons plastic wastes per year are floating on the surface of the sea (Perkins, Science, 31 Aug. 2015, doi: 10.1126/science.aad1694). And this situation might become worse with the change of people shopping.

Online shopping by some e-commercial website such as Amazon and Taobao is gradually replacing market shopping, which led the express business to rapidly grow. For example, the business volume of China inland reached to 20.67 billion in 2015, about 11.22 billion plastic bags, 2.97 billion foam filler, 9.9 billion crates, and 16.95 billion meter tapes (length nearly 500 laps around the earth) were consumed in this year (http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2016-03-31/doc-ifxqxcnz8904649.shtml). Through effective recycling and disposal system, plastic bags, cushioning materials and boxes can be maximum reused (STAP, 2011), but for tape, due to composition complexity containing polyvinyl chloride, benzene and formaldehyde adhesives, it is difficult to treat and recycle. When we are trying effort to reduce plastic bags usage (Liao et al., World Sci-Tech R&D, 37, 206-211...

ALTHOUGH WE ARE not sure whether plastic will really outweigh fish in the ocean by 2050 (Wilcox et al, PNAS, 38, 11899-11904; 2015), we all know that the land has been inputting plastic wastes into the ocean (Jambeck et al, Science, 347,768-712; 2015). Almost 600,000 plastic particles per square kilometer total weighting about 300,000 tons plastic wastes per year are floating on the surface of the sea (Perkins, Science, 31 Aug. 2015, doi: 10.1126/science.aad1694). And this situation might become worse with the change of people shopping.

Online shopping by some e-commercial website such as Amazon and Taobao is gradually replacing market shopping, which led the express business to rapidly grow. For example, the business volume of China inland reached to 20.67 billion in 2015, about 11.22 billion plastic bags, 2.97 billion foam filler, 9.9 billion crates, and 16.95 billion meter tapes (length nearly 500 laps around the earth) were consumed in this year (http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2016-03-31/doc-ifxqxcnz8904649.shtml). Through effective recycling and disposal system, plastic bags, cushioning materials and boxes can be maximum reused (STAP, 2011), but for tape, due to composition complexity containing polyvinyl chloride, benzene and formaldehyde adhesives, it is difficult to treat and recycle. When we are trying effort to reduce plastic bags usage (Liao et al., World Sci-Tech R&D, 37, 206-211: 2015), tape, a new plastic source difficult to deal is spewing out in the world, especially in China.

Plastics crisis in ocean is threatening marine ecosystem and human health (Seltenrich, Environ Health Persp, http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.123-A34; 2015), so before things get worse, we should take some actions about these tape. Manufacturers should use recyclable and degradable materials to produce tape compatible with end-of-life treatment. Participants in the entire process, including express companies, product suppliers and customers should establish the idea of green recycling and disposal and pay for the corresponding environmental cost. And governments should formulate strict rules and regulations to check and control the use of plastic strips. In addition, we have to develop rational technologies to treat and reuse abandoned tape.

By 2020, the world’s total consumption of plastics will reach 540 million tons. Plastic wastes clog the world’s oceans and rivers, causing flooding and significant environmental problems (Hoornweg et al, Nature, 512, 615-617; 2013). In the past half century, as the China’s population has grown from 818 million to 1.38 billion and become more urban and affluent with GDP per capita increased from 111 USD to 7600 USD, solid waste production (Li et al, Waste Management, 46,234-241;2015) has risen more than 1000%. One of the main components is plastics (Wang et al Waste Management, 41, 28-38; 2015). Plastic is an excellent and a daily useful material to replace ceramic, wood and metals due to the features of low cost, light weight, flexibility and design adaptability. The global production of plastic has grown with an average rate of 5-6% per year over the past few decades. The main disposal approach is either sanitary landfills (Powell et al, Nature Climate Change,6,162-166;2016) or incineration with energy recovery (Eriksson and Finnveden, Energy Environ. Sci. 2, 907-914;2013). Before 1990s, most trash was landfilled or burned in open dumps. At present, the municipal waste production rate is much higher than the increase of the limits of landfilling and incinerating capacity due to the strong opposition to authorizing and locating new landfills or incineration plats in any particular neighborhood in China. The plastic waste inherited from the past have no priority to dispose...

By 2020, the world’s total consumption of plastics will reach 540 million tons. Plastic wastes clog the world’s oceans and rivers, causing flooding and significant environmental problems (Hoornweg et al, Nature, 512, 615-617; 2013). In the past half century, as the China’s population has grown from 818 million to 1.38 billion and become more urban and affluent with GDP per capita increased from 111 USD to 7600 USD, solid waste production (Li et al, Waste Management, 46,234-241;2015) has risen more than 1000%. One of the main components is plastics (Wang et al Waste Management, 41, 28-38; 2015). Plastic is an excellent and a daily useful material to replace ceramic, wood and metals due to the features of low cost, light weight, flexibility and design adaptability. The global production of plastic has grown with an average rate of 5-6% per year over the past few decades. The main disposal approach is either sanitary landfills (Powell et al, Nature Climate Change,6,162-166;2016) or incineration with energy recovery (Eriksson and Finnveden, Energy Environ. Sci. 2, 907-914;2013). Before 1990s, most trash was landfilled or burned in open dumps. At present, the municipal waste production rate is much higher than the increase of the limits of landfilling and incinerating capacity due to the strong opposition to authorizing and locating new landfills or incineration plats in any particular neighborhood in China. The plastic waste inherited from the past have no priority to dispose. The photo taken in Oct. 2015 shows one of numerous huge dumps in L city in Hunan Province, China. The plastic waste has been buried in the dumps and exposed to sunshine for more than 20 years. These plastic wastes will eventually turn into microscopic synthetic granules ended up in marine and terrestrial environments (Jambeck et al, Science, 347,768-712;2015). Before new plastic pollution problems are created, lessons should be learned from other developed countries that have in places more environmentally favorable standards and recycling technologies.
References
1. Hoornweg D, Bhada-Tata, P, Kennedy C, Waste production must peak this century, Nature, (2013) 512, 615-617.
2. Li Y, Zhao X, Li Y, Li X, ‘Waste incineration industry and development policies in China’, Waste Management, 46(2015), 234-241.
3. Wang CQ, Wang H, Fu JG, Liu Y, ‘Flotation separation of waste plastics for recycling-A review’, Waste Management 41(2015), 28-38.
4. Powell JT, Townsend TG, Zimmerman JB, ‘Estimates of solid waste disposal rates and reduction targets for landfill gas emissions’, Nature Climate Change, 6(2016), 162-166.
5. Eriksson O, Finnveden G, ‘Plastic waste as a fuel-CO2-Neutral or not?’, Energy Environ. Sci. 2(2009), 907-914.
6. Jambeck JR, Geyer R, Wilcox C, Siegler, TR, Perryman M, Andrady A, Narayan R, Law KL, Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean, Science. 347(2015), 768-772.